January 25, 2017

Amid the flurry of news leading up to the inauguration of
President Trump, Treasury Secretary Nominee Steven Mnuchin said last week that
he supports the existing phase-out of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind
energy.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned Mnuchin on his
support for leaving the tax incentive as structured, while working on a broader
tax reform proposal.

“As we discussed, Congress has effectively put in place
transition rules for some alternative energy, including wind," Grassley
said. "The production tax credit is scheduled to phaseout over the next
few years, ending in 2020. Based on our conversation, I believe we are in
agreement that you would support the current phaseout as part of any tax reform
proposal.”

“On this point, I absolutely agree with you," said
Mnuchin. "We do need to have phaseout rules when we change things. I
support the phaseout of that as you suggested.”

Financial firm UBS said Mnuchin's comments were reassuring.
"While this remains a very preliminary announcement, we think this
suggests that the new administration is likely to leave the curent PTC
phase-out schedule unchanged," analysts wrote in a note to investors.

Mnuchin did not specifically address the Investment Tax
Credit (ITC) for solar, but his position on the PTC is likely a positive for
the solar industry. Both tax credits were passed as
part of a large spending packing at the end of 2015. The ITC is currently
scheduled to ramp down incrementally through 2021, and remain at 10 percent
permanently beginning in 2022.

According to Katherine Hamilton, principal at 38 North
Solutions, there continues to be support for the solar and wind incentives in
Congress.

"I have heard from sources close to House and Senate
leadership that they consider the PTC and ITC transitioned and are not inclined
to re-litigate," she said. "That said, it will be important for those
who have been positively impacted by those credits -- farmers, ranchers and
small and large businesses, and homeowners -- to continue to demonstrate the
economic benefits of solar and wind to their bottom line."

The solar and wind industries have seen record growth in
recent years, thanks in large part to federal incentives. These industries now
support hundreds
of thousands of jobs and are poised to create thousands more under current tax policy.
President Trump has made job creation in America a top priority on his agenda.